DepartmentOceania

Untitled Dreamtime Painting (Kanpi Rockhole, Puya Seed Pods, & Sandhills)

NamePainting, dot painting

Artist William Sandy (born 1944)

CulturePitjantjatjara

Date1990

Place madePapunya, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania

Mediumacrylic paint on canvas

Dimensions48 7/16 × 30 5/16 × 1 5/16 in. (123 × 77 × 3.4 cm)

Credit LineGift of Michael A. Werner

Object numberA.1994.48.1

DescriptionPapunya Tula collective style Dot Painting on canvas with black; narrow wood frame. Mosaic style with many dots on tan ground. Dots form 3 concentric and overlapping circles. Colors: black, white rings in center, yellow, red-brown, brown, light green surrounding. The circle in the center of this painting depicts the site of Kanpi, a small rock hole in the sandhill country near Docker River. The black shapes radiating from it are the seed pods of Puya, a green bean which grows in this area. The background dots represent the sandhills surrounding the site. William Sandy was born at Ernabella in 1944 but has been living at Papunya since 1973. He began painting in 1978 and won the Northern Territory Art Award in 1985.